Kowalski on WDFN: Could Grimm replace Beightol?

Now that Russ Grimm, the Steelers' offensive line coach, has been passed over for their head coaching job, would the Lions want him as their offensive line coach? He was a candidate for Rod Marinelli's job, and was highly touted as a Matt Millen-type of guy. Tom Kowalski tells Stoney and Wojo that he doesn't know if Grimm is on their radar, but he's a very good offensive line coach.

Q: Did you learn anything watching real football over the weekend?

A: Yes, if you execute the Tampa Two properly it will win games for you.

A: Marinelli was going to hire Mike Tomlin as defensive coordinator. He didn't have the Lions job when the Vikings opportunity came available, so he told Tomlin to take that job. They're very tight. Yes, he wanted Tomlin as his defensive coordinator.

How will Tomlin compare to Marinelli? Keep in mind that Marinelli walked into the second worst job in the NFL, and Tomlin gets a job one year removed from the Super Bowl.

Q: The longer Al Davis bumbles around hiring a coach, don't you think Martz is going to end up with the Raiders?

A: They have not interviewed Martz, and Martz hasn't shown any interest. Any coach that has any options won't even look at the Raiders job. "It's such a disaster." When you get turned down by an assistant college coach, that tells you how bad it is.

Q: What about Russ Grimm as the Lions offensive line coach?

A: The guy at the top of their list is Jim Colletto, but it's not a done deal. Will it change with Grimm out there? Who knows. What's interesting about what's going on in Pittisburgh is that Mike Tomlin kept Dick LeBeau in Pittsburgh. He's not a Tampa Two guy. Which defense will they play?

Q: Grimm can't stay there, can he? He's just been passed over.

A: I would think so, but I don't know how much he's getting paid. I don't know if he's devestated. If it's still a good situation, he may stay there. There was a story that he was offered the job, so who knows what happened. I don't know if he's on the Lions' radar or not. Last week the Lions had a good inkling that he wouldn't get the job.

Q: They wanted him as the head coach, you'd think they'd want him as an offensive line coach.

A: He interviewed. Don't blow it out of proportion. The guy they're currently looking at is the former Purdue head coach Jim Colletto. He's been around the NFL. He was with the Ravens when they won the Super Bowl. He was with the Raiders two years ago. Most recently he was the offensive line coach and assistant head coach at UCLA. He has a lot of experience. Whether he's better than Larry Beightol, whom they just fired, I don't know about that.

Q: Is Furrey going to get done, or is it going to be contentious.

A: I know Furrey wants to sign the contract. He made a half-million last year, once he signs he'll get a check for $3.5 million. That's security. He just returned from an extended vacation out of the country, so he wants to get this thing moving.

Martz isn't going anywhere. That should affect what Furrey decides to do. His name hasn't come up for the Dallas job, and that may be the final job opening.

The Lions are ready to let Furrey test free agency to set the market. They don't want him to leave, but they'll let him see how much he's being offered by other teams. I don't think Furrey wants to do that, I think he should sign as quickly as possible. Once that money is in your bank account, they can't take it back. You don't want to wait too long.

Q: What if Parcells decides he wants to be GM? Would the Lions be crazy to ignore that if he wanted to come to Detroit in the front office next year?

A: Yeah, they would be crazy. If they struggle again, they'd be remiss to not weigh all their options. We don't know if he wants to do anything at all.

All notes are paraphrased. They are not direct quotes. Listen to the full interview by downloading the MP3 or subscribing to the podcast.